Course eligibility and registration

This course is for students in the final year of their PhD. 

Please click on the relevant course name to register. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. If this course is full and you are unable to register for it, there will be further course opportunities to practise speaking about your research in the coming months of your programme.

This course is not running in autumn term 2024. 

Course overview

This is a 4-week course (90 minutes once a week) for 3rd or 4th year doctoral students, preparing them for a range of activities in the final stages of the PhD. They will practise networking, attending conferences (asking questions and presenting), as well as preparing for the viva. They will have the opportunity to practise through role play, prepared speaking tasks (the elevator pitch) and discussing approaches to these through pair work and group discussion. They will have an opportunity to consider how to use networking as an opportunity to further their careers and will also use viva practice to explore dealing with challenging questions.

Course structure

• Each week there will be materials, accessed remotely, to prepare you for the scheduled live session. The remote session is not timetabled, but you are expected to spend a minimum of 30 minutes on the activities. 
• The group will then meet for a 90-minute live session in which you will have the opportunity to speak (usually in small groups), receive feedback and develop the effectiveness of your oral communication. Sessions focus on both specific tasks and key speaking skills. 
• After each session, you will be encouraged to reflect on feedback received in class (from your peers and your teacher), to build on this and to further practise in order to hone your skills. This can take a further 30 minutes.